Hot and Cold
by Cylinder
Summary: Curiosity didn't kill the cat - it captured it, threw it in a cupboard with Kakashi Hatake and tossed in a few security lockdowns for entertainment. Sakura had no idea what she'd gotten herself into...


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**Hot and Cold**

_''Know love, know happiness. No love, no happiness."_

_-_

Sakura winced at the intense heat the sun was sending down on her tired, heavy head and sighed in relief as she turned the corner, seeing her apartment building in the distance. Twenty-four hours she had been working for. Twenty-four hours of complete hell. She fumbled for her key as she stepped up the cool, metal stairs toward her red door and poked it through the keyhole, kicking the door slightly when it decided to not open.

It swung open to reveal her very abandoned living room and once again, she made a mental note to clean it just as soon as she could be bothered. It wasn't exactly as bad as Kakashi's or Naruto's, but it was certainly almost to the brink of inhabitable. Well, what could she do? She was a complete and utter workaholic and didn't have time for such a luxury of cleaning.

The silence made her shiver, not used to it being so quiet. The hospital had been bustling after a group of shinobi had been ambushed by the Akatsuki and Sakura had to force out the horrendous images that threatened to reappear in front of her eyes. They had a new member, which also meant new jutsu. The jutsu that had been used had slaughtered almost half of the group within mere moments and it certainly wasn't a bloodline limit jutsu.

Sighing, she slumped down onto her bed, shoving some dirty clothes off of the end so she could stretch her legs. Her clock read 6pm, but it didn't bother her. She needed to sleep or she was certain to collapse from exhaustion. Her eyes fluttered close and she fell asleep, fully-clothed and dirty.

~*~

**CRASH.**

Sakura bolted upright, her eyes still leaking tears and every inch of her sweating cold moisture. Hurriedly, she looked around for the source of the noise. It was then she realised she had fallen off of her bed and she laughed bitterly to herself, pushing herself up from the floor. Looking at the clock, she noticed that she had slept for no more than 8 hours, but that was all she needed. She cursed at herself and headed for the bathroom, telling herself that she needed to not only wash herself, but wash away the images that still ran through her head from her nightmare.

After a much needed shower, she dressed in a plain black-shirt that was two sizes too big for her and dainty shorts. She would go for an evening stroll without the whole ninja apparatus, just to clear her mind.

She stepped out of the front door after slipping on some plain wooden sandals and slid the key under the mat. Yes, an obvious place to put a key, but she knew no one would dare to enter her apartment while she was gone unless they wanted a fist in their mouth.

"Sakura!" She froze at the bottom of her steps and turned in shock to stare at Naruto. He stopped a few feet away from her, observing her clothing. He pouted his lips to begin the wolf whistle, but halted himself when Sakura cracked her knuckles.

"Heheh. What are you doing out so late?" Naruto laughed nervously and placed one hand behind his head, observing his friends pale face. Sakura sighed, raising her arms to tie back her long pink locks into a messy bun above her head.

"I want to go for a walk. Can't sleep." She said, rubbing a hand up and down her upper arm as she stared at the floor. She couldn't bring herself to look at Naruto when she wasn't dressed in her full ninja gear. It made her feel vulnerable. He was oblivious of this and appeared by her side.

"Great! I was on my way home from the bar and I don't mind joining you." He grinned and placed his hands in his pockets, waiting patiently.

"No thanks, Naruto. I'd rather go alone." She smiled at her friend and began to walk around her usual circuit around the village. Footsteps approached her rapidly from behind.

"Come on Sakura, it's dangerous to walk around on your own." Naruto's voice said from beside her. She looked down to hide her angry eyebrow twitch.

"Naruto, I am a Jonin. It's dangerous for me to walk around on my own for another reason then what you're thinking." She brought her hard gaze up to Naruto and he froze.

"Fine. Just be careful Sakura. Pervy sage has made a habit of wandering this late at night." He grinned cheekily and ran off in the opposite direction to her, waving behind him. Sakura's hard gaze faded as she watched him run away and she smiled after him, before continuing her walk. As she expected, the village was almost deserted and almost all the lights were out. As she approached the Hokage's building, she looked up and observed the huge red structure. She brought her head back down and continued to walk, before stopping and returning her gaze back to the building, her brow creased.

One single, faint light remained on. Just a flicker. She stepped forward towards the gate and the cold handle squeaked as she pushed against it. It swung open and her brow furrowed even deeper. There was no denying it now – someone was in there.

Hurriedly, she sprinted towards the building, trying the entrance door too. Again, it swung open easily. Observing the entrance hall, she stepped cautiously through the building in case of traps. Within moments, she reached the Hokage's office and immediately she felt stupid. All this time, she thought a spy of some sort had infiltrated the Hokage's building. But what kind of spy keeps all the door unlocked, sets no traps and leaves a hefty familiar scent?

She smiled to herself as she progressed up yet another set of stairs towards the small library that occupied the huge building. It didn't contain much information that she didn't already know, but there were many people that wished they could read the information that was contained in there. There was the possibility that the nin had just slacked off this once and forgot to lock up or put out all the candles, but that possibility was very small.

Slowly, she opened the door to the library with barely an ounce of her strength, noticing the fresh candle on the table almost immediately. It was then that the open door to the left of a huge bookshelf caught her immediate attention. The Forbidden Section was locked to everyone but the Hokage and a select few ANBU. Pushing back the doubt that it could be someone without that permission, she stepped forward and peeked through the crack. She stifled a gasp.

Kakashi was leaning backwards against the wall, a book on his chest and his eyes closed. He had fallen asleep in the Forbidden Section. It was then she had the urge to giggle and decided that Kakashi must have gotten permission to enter it in order to do research. It was not unheard that Kakashi enjoyed researching all different kinds of new jutsu and this was obviously the reasoning behind the Hokage building being open so early in the morning.

Sakura slammed the door hard against the wall and laughed loudly as Kakashi awoke, kunai in his hand. He noticed her presence and sighed, putting it away in his pouch.

"Sakura, that really wasn't a wise idea." He scolded, although his eyes were more strained with fatigue then disappointment.

"It isn't really a wise idea to fall asleep in the Forbidden Section, Kakashi-sensei." She retorted, gesturing to the books. He followed her hand with his gaze and sighed again.

"It's gonna be a long night," he commented, standing to his feet. He stumbled when he caught his foot on top of his other foot and Sakura jumped forward to catch him. The moment she did, the door slammed behind her and the one candle that produced the light in the room blew out. Sakura tripped, landing on top of Kakashi who had only just managed to regain his balance.

"Ow." She groaned, resting her hands either side of Kakashi. She opened her screwed up eyes and they met with the dark figure underneath her that seemed to be breathing. Blushing, she scrambled off of him.

"Sorry." She muttered, pushing herself back onto her feet. She groped around in the darkness for the bookshelf and cursed when she stubbed her toe.

"I'm assuming Security Protocol 2 has been activated." Kakashi spoke into the darkness when Sakura had reached the door. She didn't question his quote and attempted to open the door, only to find it locked. A growl emitted from the bottom of her throat, Kakashi's comment just registering.

"All light is taken from the room, a chakra shield is activated for a limited amount of time and you are stranded until rescue. Triggered by an unwelcome visitor or too many people in one room you wish to keep safe." Sakura muttered the effects of Security Protocol 2 and cursed to herself again, sliding down the door. Kakashi hummed.

"You know your stuff." He commented, placing both hands behind his head. Sakura hissed at the amusement in his tone and flinched when his foot bumped into hers. The Forbidden Section was really no more than a small cupboard, about the size of a walk-in wardrobe. To be trapped with her sensei in such a dark room, under the intense heat of the night... it spelled trouble.

"So... this is all my fault?" Sakura whispered after a few minutes. Kakashi opened one eye to look at her, observing her figure in the dark. As his eyes were adjusting, he could make out her pale, delicately shaped face and her curvy, inviting body that was hauled up against the door.

"Yeah," he confirmed her enquiry and smirked when she went rigid against the door.

"God, I'm sorry Kakashi-sensei. If I knew-"

"You didn't know, Sakura. And I'm not your sensei anymore." He commented, shifting his weight. It was getting increasingly hot in the room and not because he and Sakura were within an arm's reach of each other. With both of their body heats in the room, it was heating up the air and there was no means of fresh air to release the high temperature.

Slowly, he rose to his feet to shake off his Jonin vest, throwing it on the floor behind him. Sakura watched him moving in the dark, now able to make out his mask and eyes. _Seems Kakashi doesn't like the heat, _she thought, watching him peel off the jacket slowly, causing his skin-tight vest underneath to bulge. Her eyes widened and she looked away, hotter then she had been moments ago. What was that? Was she just checking out her old _teacher?!_

"What a day you chose to get us locked in here, Sakura." Kakashi remarked, seating himself back onto the floor. She laughed humourlessly and guilt washed over her again.

"I only wanted to go for a walk. I had to let curiosity get the better of me." She groaned and wrapped her head in her hands, her forehead now beginning to prickle with sweat. Unlike Kakashi, she couldn't take off any more layers then she already had and she most certainly wasn't stripping down to her underwear in front of her sensei. Kakashi could make out her pained face and frowned as the heat seemed to fall from the room substantially. Within seconds, the heat had turned to a chilling breeze.

"What-"

"Security Protocol 2.5: An addition to Security Protocol 2; temperature will change at random times in order to confuse the person(s) bodily functions, making it difficult to counter any attack that will be brought on them." Sakura hadn't bothered to move her hands from her head and muttered the effects of what they were under. Kakashi was left no time to be amazed as his body began to contract horribly with the cold, his breath even visible in the dark.

"The Hokage must really not want anyone unwelcome in this room, huh?" He commented, raising to his feet and wincing at his already-cold limbs. He picked up his Jonin vest and made to put it on, only to realise that Sakura had begun shivering. He ran his eyes down her figure, finally noticing the flattering black t-shirt and tight, small, shorts. He was oblivious to the heat that rushed to his face and he bent down in front of her, placing the vest over her shoulders. She moved her hands away and stared up at her sensei.

"Kakashi-sensei-"

"I told you to stop calling me that. And you need that more than I do." He interrupted her and smiled, his hands still grasping the vest that was over her shoulders. She smiled sweetly up at Kakashi - although she knew her face was not very visible – and snuggled into the vest.

"Thanks." She whispered, keeping her gaze on his lone orb. Their close proximity was not noticed until Kakashi let out a long breath, causing it to seep through the mask and caress her lips. Instantly, she shivered and her eyes began to droop close, mirroring her sudden urge to lean forwards and press her lips to his navy mask.

Kakashi observed her blushing face and felt his face heat up too, despite the cold temperature of the room. He moved away quickly, resettling himself on the floor. Both pretended to not notice the immense tension that now settled in the room.

_What's wrong with me? _Sakura placed her hands over her blushing cheeks and threw a glance at Kakashi, who was staring hard at the wall. _I'm not... _

She sneezed, breaking the tension in the room. Kakashi threw a glance at her worriedly. He was withstanding the cold easily as he'd had to sleep in nothing but snow once. He knew that Sakura had definitely not had to sleep outside in snow before as she'd always had Naruto or Sai to at least cuddle up to. Not that she ever had.

_Guess I've got no choice, _he thought, shuffling over to her. He pulled her hard against him and heard her yelp in surprise.

"Sensei..." She whispered, trying to prise herself away. Kakashi ignored her protest and tightened his grip.

"Sakura, it's cold. I'm used to it, but it's clear you not. Don't be stupid." He spoke sternly, knowing it would be the only way to keep her against him. He rested his back against the wall and spread his legs, placing her in the gap and pulling her to rest sideways against him.

Sakura wanted to pull away, she did. But his body was a whole ton warmer then when she was on her own and she enjoyed the shiver that went down her spine whenever his hands moved on her waist. _No denying it now, Sakura. You have the hots for your sensei._ Sakura hushed her inner self and moved into a more comfortable position in between Kakashi's legs.

"Sakura." He used a warning tone and she looked up at him, confused. His face had tinted pink and a low growl emitted from the bottom of his throat as she moved again. It was then she realised just exactly was she was doing.

"Uh...Oh... S-Sorry." She stuttered, moving again. Kakashi gripped her shoulders to halt her movement and she brought his eyes back to his. There was no longer awkward tension and the fallen temperature was ignored. The only tension that remained was one that neither of them dared to break.

Sakura's mouth fell open as she brought her eyes back down to her sensei's masked lips. There was no hiding the fact now. She desired Kakashi.

She was facing Kakashi fully now and lifted her arms up to his mask, ignoring his wary eyes that watched her intently.

"Sakura, what are you doing?" He asked her as her delicate fingers brushed along the rim of his mask, playing with it. Her resolve weakened and she wondered whether or not she should continue. She shook away her blush and frowned in determination, tugging the mask down an inch at a time.

Kakashi should have pushed her away the moment she had begun to move. He was too filled with lust now that he had a beautiful woman in front of him and he found he was useless against anything she tried to do. It took everything he had to place one hand over hers, preventing his mask from being brought down. Unknown to him, the contact only sent a shiver of pleasure down Sakura's arm and she froze, unsure what to do.

She came to a conclusion and leant forwards, placing her lips extremely close to Kakashi's ear. She felt him go rigid underneath her and smiled to herself.

"Sensei, please." She wanted to see his face. See whether or not this attraction was just some stupid infatuation that every 20-year-old went through when locked in a freezing cupboard with a seemingly attractive man.

She moved backward, both of their faces almost close enough for their noses to touch. Kakashi was speechless. What had happened to the blushing, flustered Sakura he had encountered earlier? He was aware of the dark material travelling down his face, but he ignored it, allowing Sakura to do whatever she saw fit.

As soon as the mask was down, Sakura moved further back to observe his face and noticed that Kakashi's thin, beautiful lips were curved into a smirk, his face perfectly shaped and not a single flaw. Immediately, the stuttering, blushing Sakura returned.

"I-I sorry, Kakashi. I don't know what came over me." She made to move away, only for Kakashi to capture her with an arm around her waist. Slowly, he ducked her head down toward her shoulder, brushing his lips against her ear.

"Not very nice to leave me hanging, Sakura." His voice sent intense waves down her body and she knew that, were she able to see clearly, her face would be as red as her namesake. He captured the back of her head with his free arm and brushed his lips down her jaw line, causing her to go rigid with pleasure.

_I really really shouldn't be doing this. _The same thought coursed through both of the trapped shinobi's minds, but neither thought anything of it. They were caught up in a moment that neither of them were ready to break out of.

Kakashi hesitated as his lips were brought to Sakura's and waited. He waited for her to at least protest, tell him that it was wrong. But it didn't look like she was close to doing that and so he dipped his head down and kissed her, one hand cupping her cheek and the other entwined around her waist. Sakura was instantly sent into another world, her focus completely off balance. She moved her dangling arms to wrap them around Kakashi's neck, caressing the grey tendrils that stuck to his cold neck. Slowly, he crawled forwards on his knees and laid Sakura down onto the ground, pressing himself ever so slightly against her as she continued to keep her tight hold on the back of his neck.

"I guess this is your fault too." Kakashi whispered to her once they had broken away for breath. Sakura's light, giddy laugh shook her underneath him.

"No. This was your fault." She sighed into his lips, bringing her head up to kiss him again. He pushed his lips harder against hers this time, dominating her completely. He lifted his arms to grasp her wrists from around his neck and placed them above her head, keeping them there as he slowly placed delicate kisses down her neck, moving her t-shirt out of the way with his lips. Sakura sighed and smiled, her skin numb with cold but heat inside her keeping her from shivering completely. She and Kakashi were trapped and at the moment, it certainly wasn't a bad thing.

~*~

"ACHOO." Sakura sniffed and ran her finger under her nose. Naruto eyed her red nose and tilted his head in question towards her as they walked.

"Hey Sakura. Looks like you've got a cold. Can't see how, it's so hot out today." He lifted his head up and placed both hands behind his head, looking at the sky as though making his point. Sakura laughed nervously and coughed, tugging Naruto into Ichiraku Ramen when he threatened to walk straight past it.

"Hello Naruto. You must have your head in the clouds today," Teuchi – the owner of the ramen shop – said, smiling brightly at his regular customer. Naruto grinned, rubbing the back of his head.

"Always have. Now gimme my usual!" He slammed his hands down on the counter and Sakura smiled at her lively friend.

"Mind if I join you?" She froze at the familiar voice from behind her and instantly her cheeks coloured. Naruto's face brightened with joy.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto cheered and hopped aside, leaving him to be seated next to Sakura. She refused to meet his eyes, even though it was obvious he was looking at her.

"Hey, one for Kakashi, Teuchi!" Naruto called out, grinning happily at his ex-sensei. Sakura risked looking up at Kakashi and found that he was resting one elbow on the counter with his cheek in his hand, facing entirely away from Naruto and staring deeply at her. She instantly found herself transfixed and couldn't bring her eyes away from his lone eye.

"How is that cold doing, Sakura?" He asked, bending closer to her. She squeaked quietly and her breathing became quick. Her eyes kept gazing down to his masked lips and his scent was overpowering her. He bent down further, lifting his free hand to raise her chin up.

"You've gone red. Are you sure you aren't coming down with flu?" He arched an eyebrow in amusement and she batted him away.

"Very funny, _sensei._" She quipped, poking her tongue out at her fellow Jonin. Kakashi swooped down so his face was extremely close to hers.

"Be careful, I might take that as an invitation." He drawled seductively. Sakura saw Naruto watching them suspiciously and turned away from her ex-sensei, noticing with relief that the ramen had arrived.

"AHA. We get to see your real face Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto cheered, watching Kakashi carefully so he couldn't use his lightning quick movement to gobble it up before they saw. Kakashi smiled, causing his eyes to crinkle upward.

"Well Naruto. _Sakura_ has nothing to look forward to. Right, Sakura?" Kakashi tilted his head into her direction, but she ignored him. Well, in fact, she couldn't respond because she was too busy choking on ramen.

"WHAT?! SAKURA, YOU'VE SEEN HIS FACE?! WHEN, HOW, WHAT-" Sakura was bombarded by questions and when Naruto finally flew around to question Kakashi, the ramen was gone and Kakashi's mask was back up.

Naruto let out a yell of frustration and grasped his hair with his hands.

"KAKASHI. LET ME SEE IT." He yelled, jumping up and down and pouting like a stropping child. Kakashi tapped his chin in mock thought, then his eyes fell to Sakura.

"I will allow you to see my face-" He was quiet as Naruto's cheer interrupted him. "If Sakura shows you how she saw it."

Sakura froze, her chopsticks dropping into her now empty bowl. Furiously, she turned to glare at the silver-haired Jonin.

"No way. Not here. Not in front of-"

"GUYS." Naruto turned to the calling voice and saw that Hinata, Kiba, Neji and Ino were arriving at the ramen shop too. Sakura felt her insides boil and her soul fly out of her mouth.

"Hey guys! Kakashi's gonna let us see his face!" Naruto cheered, dragging them all hurriedly to the shop. Hinata blushed at the contact, but Naruto remained oblivious.

_No no no no no no no, _she thought, watching as they all stared in interest at the copy-nin and Sakura. She turned to stare at the attractive silver-haired Kakashi in front of her and flinched when his eyebrow arched perfectly into his brow. He leant forward.

"Well, Sakura?" He murmured, keeping his eyes on her face even though his actions were drawing attention to passing people. It must have been a strange sight, seeing the famous copy-nin and the apprentice of the Hokage in such a close proximity to each other in such a public place. Sakura sighed. Well, she knew that her and Kakashi needed to go public. What better way to do it?

She pulled down his mask slowly, fully aware of the fact they had attracted quite a crowd and ignored their amazed gasps when his face was revealed. Then, she leant forwards hurriedly, before she could back out, and placed her lips on his.

The wolf whistles from the crowd and cheers were unheard as she got lost in the kiss, completely unaware of the shocked looks she was receiving from the rest of the ex-genin crowd. When she pulled away, flushing red and aware that Kakashi was smirking in victory, she finally realised how big a crowd they had in fact attracted.

"That's how I saw his face." She commented, laughing nervously as she looked at the crowd. A patter of laughter echoed around them and eventually they started to move away – no doubt to spread the rumour.

"Way to go Sakura." Ino jeered, slinging an arm around Hinata's neck. The Hyuuga girl nodded in agreement. Neji was looking away, his arms crossed and a slight pink tinge to his cheeks and Kiba wolf-whistled.

"I wouldn't mind some of that. Say, if I wore a mask, would you kiss me like that?" He commented, grinning slyly at Sakura. She rose swiftly to her feet and punched him out of the ramen shop and into a building opposite. Naruto placed both his hands behind his head and grinned.

"Wow. Kakashi-sensei and Sakura. That's crazy." He commented, settling back down on the stool to finish his ramen. Sakura turned back around, rubbing her red fist subconsciously. Kakashi rose from his feet and quickly pulled her into a surprise hug. She wrapped her arms around him and smiled, snuggling deep into his body.

_If a hug represented how much I love you, I would hold you in my arms forever, _Sakura couldn't help but think. She didn't dare say such a thing aloud to Kakashi – it was bad enough she mentally thought it – but she did think it fitted very well with what she was feeling. Well, there was definitely no denying it. She was in love with her ex-sensei and it all came from being locked in a cupboard that they discovered was definitely a lot more comfortable then a bed. Sakura sighed and moved her arms down to Kakashi's waist, hugging him tightly against her. Love comes at the most unexpected times and this situation? It just proved that theory to be too God damned right.

**The End.**

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A/N: I'm aware of probably a few confusing sentences or grammar/spelling mistakes, but I'll correct them as soon as I get around to proof-reading this. I didn't start this off so well and for some reason, I just couldn't put much into this story. I wasn't inspired enough. Anyhow, tell me what you think, check out my other cool one-shots and review! :D  
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